We offer programs by Theresa Eckler, whose book "Limitless" is the perfect story to inspire young children around the world. Limitless is the beautiful story of a determined young girl, named Harper, who is on a mission to find her “thing.” After several failed attempts, she stumbles upon a group of children trying to fix a broken kite. Harper uses her creativity to fix not only the kite, but also inspires those around her to use their minds to help them succeed. For the last 16 years Theresa has been a local elementary teacher and has begun doing author visits at schools throughout New York State. Theresa's visits include reading her brand new children's book, sharing a beautiful presentation highlighting the writing process behind the science to make the book happen, engaging activities such as "spot the difference" where students become the editors and see if they can find the inconsistencies between the illustrative drafts and the final illustration and so much more! Theresa wrote this book as while teaching she noticed a need for books that highlight students creativity, ability to problem solve, and being proud of what makes you unique!

Art Travelers through Time: Literacy and History through Art - Provides third grade students and teachers the opportunity to connect their classroom study of "Communities Around the World" to authentic cultural artifacts from the museum's large and diverse collection. Artifacts represent cultures in Africa, Asia, Melanesia, Central and South America. Artifacts Alive! Students in grades 3-5 engage with authentic artifacts from around the world and are immersed in deep exploration of communities and culture. Artifacts represent cultures in Africa, Asia, Melanesia, Central and South America. Exhibition Based Field Trips - for students in PK-12. Students engage in close-looking at art from our rotating exhibitions using an inquiry-based approach. These sessions can be thematic, focused on fine arts/technique or both! Professional Development (In Person and Virtual) - for PK-12 educators. Sessions include hands-on approaches to supporting NY State Standards using art and artifacts. Each session is tailored to meet the needs of faculty and staff - and most appropriate for Arts Educators, ELA, Social Studies.

A former college professor with an MFA in Creative Writing, Ken Waldman combines Appalachian-style string-band music, original poetry, and smart storyteller for an experience unique to him. He's been a visiting writer at over 100 colleges, and has been a visiting artist at over 250 schools in 35 states, and works with kindergartners, at-risk and advance placement high-schoolers, and with all ages in between.

You Can Do a Graphic Novel, Comic Book, Meme, or Zine Categories: Creative Writing, Visual Arts Curriculum. Costs VIRTUAL PROGRAMS (ZOOM) One-hour interactive classes, unlimited participants: $500.00 LIVE IN-PERSON PROGRAMS One day: $1,200.00 Four days: $3,800.00 Eight days: $6,500.00 For venues more than 40 miles from Hudson, NY travel cost of $0.50 mile will be added. For venues more than 40 miles from Valatie, NY travel cost of $0.50 mile will be added. Available year-round. Program Theme: Students learn how to create a graphic novel beginning with a six page comic. It doesn’t matter if they can draw. Stick figures are an expressive way for the reluctant artist to begin. Participants are encouraged to bring their sketchbooks and characters they may already be working on. They will learn about The Creative Process, how to write a Character Study, focus on the beginning, middle, end and twist of a story, and Create Layouts. If the program is an assembly, Barbara talks though the program with on-screen illustrations of the process. The school is to provide a computer, projector and screen. Program Description: Each program is custom tailored to the grade, number of students in the class, and number of sessions. If there are four or more sessions per class, the program finishes with a Graphic Novel Exhibition (see below). The Creative Process: 20 creative tips. Creating Characters: Participants complete bio sheets with the character’s name, age, best friend/side kick, powers (if any), biggest fear, life goal, etc. Plotting: Learning how to plot challenges the student to complete a story. Too many begin the story and throw it out somewhere in the middle. The student learns to plot by color code, a method used by film/tv/graphic novel writers. Layout: Participants learn about panels, thumbnails, dialogue balloons, sequence, and making a page pop. Rather than drawing “talking heads,” they draw a close-up, pull back for a long shot, followed by interior, exterior, bird’s eye views. Everybody works at their own pace. Some are advanced artists/writers while others are beginners. It doesn’t matter where they begin as long as they get going. I hand out a “character bible” sheet and encourage them to think about the beginning, middle, end and twist of their story. The twist is what makes the story interesting. I bring in samples of character bibles from Marvel comics which they can keep, and scripts written by professionals. Feedback is an important part of the program. It usually begins when I hold up a student’s drawing and ask them to suggest a name, age, or character trait. The student can take the suggestions or discard them, however, it opens up discussions. In the first session, students are sometimes quiet/shy with other students but by the second, they open up about their characters and stories. After the last workshop, the doors open to parents, friends, relatives, the community, and the local press. Students show and talk about their work…where they got their inspiration for characters/story. The “Graphic Novel Exhibition” attracts a lot of attention and often results in newspaper articles. Having artwork in the newspaper is great for a student’s self-esteem and for their portfolio. Copies of Barbara's textbook You Can Do a Graphic Novel can be ordered for the school library, and discounts are available from the publisher for class-size orders. http://youcandoagraphicnovel.com/students1.htm

Your school will be amazed at the magic. They will laugh at the hysterical comedy. But most importantly, they will get excited about being Fit! The bFit Show is a 45-minute elementary fitness and nutrition program designed to get your kids interested in getting Fit. The show uses magic, comedy, juggling, music, and tons of audience participation to deliver a powerful and motivational message that kids in America need to hear! The bFit Show uses magic, comedy, juggling, and audience participation to get your elementary school excited about eating healthy, fitness, nutrition, and exercise! Students, teachers, parents, and administrators will love and talk about The bFit Show for days, weeks, and months to come. And this program may help your school fight child obesity, diabetes, and heart disease! The bFit Show with Brian Richards is an elementary health and fitness assembly that will get your students up and moving!

Nick Scott, motivational speaker, inspires students with his journey, emphasizing the importance of starting right. His programs cultivate leadership, teamwork, and decision-making skills, empowering students to make meaningful contributions. Learning outcomes focus on self-esteem, respect, and courage. Nick engages students at all levels, instilling the belief that education is key to achieving dreams. His 45-50 minute assembly promotes kindness by helping students to understand that it’s OK to be Different!

Expand your students' marine science experience via live, interactive presentations! Our 1-hour videoconference sessions incorporate live animal observations (whenever possible) and current research projects happening right here at the Alaska SeaLife Center. The materials for each program include a teacher's guide with background information and activity ideas, as well as supplies for the session's hands-on activities.

Emmy Award winning illustrator, author, and television star of PBS’s 1980’s children’s television series “The Secret City With Commander Mark!” And in the 1990’s “The Imagination Station!” – now on Amazon Prime Video! – Mark Kistler, presents Dare To Draw, an outstanding school assembly for grades K-12. Prepare your students to blast-off to the land of imagination with the power of a pencil! This unforgettable, 100% hands-on assembly encourages students of all ages to participate by stretching their imaginations in adding depth and perspective to their drawings. Mark Kistler will inspire your students to “Dream It! Draw It! Do It!” in harnessing the power of their imagination to make their life dreams come true. Students only need a pencil, a piece of paper, and a smiling positive attitude ready to learn how to draw in 3-D!

DINOSAURS ROCK, celebrating 25 years, offers 4 science-themed events - DINOSAURS ROCK, GEMS ROCK, OCEANS & SHARKS ROCK and INSECTS ROCK - Each includes an expansive Museum Exhibit, highly interactive and entertaining Assembly Show with lots of audience volunteers, accompanying keynote video and hands-on activity such as a dig where each student takes home real fossil, mineral or seashell matching the theme. DINOSAURS ROCK: Topics include dinosaur anatomy, fossil formation, adaptation.. with a 20+ piece exhibit including a 5-ft wide t-rex skull, 6-ft allosaurus leg, dinosaur egg & footprint (students can touch!) and many more specimens. Hands-on options include a fossil dig, excavation, geode-opening, amber discovery, fossil shark tooth necklace-making, trilobite excavation... OCEANS & SHARKS ROCK: Museum Exhibit - specimens include taxidermy shark & stingray (students touch!), giant crab plaques, oversized sponge, shells, jellyfish - note: no live creatures. Show covers fascinating sea creatures and "Earth Day, "anti pollution, environmental message about saving our oceans. Hands-on seashell/sea fossil dig plus other options like shark tooth necklace-making and excavations. GEMS ROCK: Earth science-based program focusing on the critical uses of rocks & Minerals in our everyday lives, how the earth and rocks were formed and more, with a museum exhibit of genuine minerals such as amethyst, quartz, geodes, etc. - hand-on activities include panning for take-home gemstones with other options including excavations, geode opening, gemstone mining with our 25-ft rushing water sluice! INSECTS ROCK: Museum Exhibit of awesome taxidermy insects behind acrylic/glass of a variety of cool insects (no live creatures) with show topics including metamorphosis, insect anatomy, how a fly flies and more. Age appropriate for PreK-high school; we modify the program based on grades. The opportunity to see museum quality exhibits up-close, be active participants in our shows and take home real specimens with our hands-on experiential approach make each of these a highly memorable and unique event. Ask about our Museum Shop for discounted rates.

Seagle Festival offers a touring in-school children's opera performance each early fall season in September and early October. Available children's operas are suitable for pre-K-6 audiences. The booking includes a 30-45 minute performance, plus a short question and answer session, as well as a professionally produced teacher guide with pre and post opera activities to integrate students' opera experience into their regular curriculum.

Group Tickets for parties of 10+ to ALADDIN and THE LION KING on Broadway in New York City. When booking as a group, guests will benefit from special group pricing, flexible payment timelines, and no booking fees. We also offer a variety of add on experiences such as Disney on Broadway Workshops and Post-Show Talkbacks.

As artists, we believe that color has the power to transform a space—shaping how children feel, learn, imagine, and engage with the world around them. HI COLORS NYC specializes in interactive and traditional art murals for public and private schools and educational spaces. We transform ordinary walls into engaging, site-specific works of art that reflect each community’s identity, values, culture, and learning environment. Our Interactive Art Mural (IAM) program takes art beyond the visual experience by creating hands-on learning environments where students can draw, color, erase, explore, and interact directly with the artwork. These murals encourage creativity, imagination, self-expression, curiosity, and active participation while making art an accessible part of the everyday learning experience. Inclusivity is at the heart of our work. Our interactive murals are thoughtfully designed to engage children of all abilities, including those with special needs and diverse learning styles. Through color, touch, movement, and creative exploration, our murals can support sensory engagement, fine-motor development, visual learning, communication, and self-expression. Most importantly, there is no single “right” way to experience the artwork. Each child is invited to participate at their own comfort level and according to their individual abilities—giving them the freedom to create, explore, imagine, and make the art their own. At HI COLORS NYC, we don’t simply create art for children to look at—we create art that invites them to become part of it.